The prior art describes the wireless or inductive charging of mobile electronic devices in both indoor environments and also within vehicles so as to remove the clutter and need for various charging cables that plug into the different devices. Inductive coupling frequently uses mechanical, magnetic or printed means of providing or indicating alignment of the primary and secondary inductive coils to enable and obtain optimal transfer efficiencies between the primary transmit circuit and the receiving secondary circuit.
For those devices that are placed in vehicles, Sarnowsky in U.S. D572,189 S shows the implementation of in-vehicle inductive charging to a mobile device placed within a cup holder, while Baarman in U.S. Pat. No. 7,612,528 describes the charging of devices placed within a holder that maybe located in the vehicle console, sun visor, trunk, seat pocket, door stowage compartment and glove compartment. Baarman also describes the ability of a removable device to wirelessly communicate with the vehicle data bus when placed within the holder for the purposes of transferring voice, audio and device charge status data to the vehicle. In his U.S. Pat. No. 7,462,951, Baarman describes the application of inductive charging to hand held tools where a tool box, which maybe placed within a vehicle and connected to vehicle power, is equipped with inductive charging locations into which a portable power tool can be placed to receive a charge. Vitito in U.S. Pat. No. 8,203,657 describes the inductive charging of mobile entertainment system embedded within a car seat headrest.
None of the references cited describe the application of a weapon systems charger either within a battlefield environment, within a vehicle, vessel, aircraft, ect. or in a forward or rear operating base or barrack. All prior art describes the application of inductive chargers in a clean indoor and above floor level format or type of environment such as on top of furniture, within gloves boxes or in vehicle consoles where both the charger and the device are protected from any kind of harsh environmental element. The present invention, eliminates the need for exposed electro-mechanical connections and associated failure prone connectors, and provides a weapon system inductive charger which is an environmentally insensitive, encapsulated power transfer system that can operate in harsh weather or environmental conditions such as mud, sand, dirt, ice, snow, rain and in man made contaminants such as petroleum, oil, lubricants and biological and chemical agents that may be found an example both outside or inside a military or other similar vehicle. Additional battlefield or war-fighting environmental requirements include the ability of the charger to withstand being fully submersed while performing inductive charging functions or being washed down. A further aspect of this invention is the ability of the primary charging receptacle to allow dirt and contaminants to pass through the primary charging device and not collect in the bottom of the primary charger, which over time, as the dirt builds up within, would prevent proper alignment of the primary and secondary coils and impede the function of the device. Further implementations of the present invention weapon charger mechanical design allows a weapon is stock to be inserted into the charger and, using the weight of the weapon, have the receptacle interior faces automatically and independently actuated to move in towards the weapon stock after it is placed within the charging receptacle, ensuring optimal alignment and charging efficiencies. Other implementations would allow for the weapon to be shouldered and fired while being charged.
Conventional modern weapons support a variety of electronic devices that each require their own battery for electrical power. As weapons accessories have been reduced in size due to technological improvement, the ability of the soldier to carry more accessories on his weapon has increased. Examples of weapon accessories requiring power can include tactical light, electronic rifle scope, look through day or night vision, laser light module, thermal vision long range, thermal vision short range, fire control systems, Infra-Red sight, digital compass and weapon system information displays.
Two observations have been made regarding the increase in attachment of electronic accessory devices to a weapon. The first is that it has become apparent that the center of gravity due to the weight of the accessory devices and their batteries has created a detrimental effect on the human factors or ergonomics of the weapon and consequently on the ability of the soldier to use his weapon effectively. The second is that improved weapon power management strategies are required to provide longer periods of weapon use without the need to exchange batteries.
When each accessory device contains its own battery, the weapon system can be considered to have a distributed power system. Most devices use smaller batteries of the 1.5V AAA; 1.5V AA, or 3V CR123/A cell formats, with the batteries often accounting for up to 50% of the mass and volume of the accessory device. As most of the accessories are mounted forward on the weapon, either above the hand grip or fore grip area, the center of gravity for the weapon has been moved forward which in turn has affected weapon handling. It was identified in a NATO RTO human factors study that battery weight could be shifted to better locations on weapon, including butt, pistol grip to assist in locating the center of balance of the weapon. It was identified that a wide range of power architecture options were possible for weapon energy distribution. FIG. 1 illustrates the various energy distribution concepts identified by the NATO/RTO study.
The concepts include the current distributed power or Christmas tree approach (FIG. 1A), a single multi-functional accessory device (FIG. 1B), a one power source powers all of the weapon sensors (FIG. 1C), the battery of one sensor device powers all other devices (FIG. 1D), power provided by a combination of sources (FIG. 1E) and power from external connector going to a soldier system central battery (FIG. 1F). A further power source location identified, was the central power source located in the hand grip of the weapon.
Modern weapon design (FIG. 2) in soldier modernisation programmes describe the application of a powered rail to which multiple electronic devices can be attached and that draw power from typically a common central power source such as a battery. In some instances the power source may be divided into dual power sources due to design or space constraints within the weapon system, or an alternate energy storage device such as a super-capacitor or other appropriate electrical energy storage device. To obtain external recharge power however requires the connection of an external power cable.
The NATO Accessory Rail (NAR), defined by the modernization agreement STANAG 4694, is a new standard for mounting auxiliary equipment such as telescopic sights, tactical lights, laser aiming modules, night vision devices, reflex sights, fore-grips, bipods and bayonets to small arms such as rifles and pistols. STANAG 4694, was approved by the NATO Army Armaments Group (NAAG), Land Capability Group 1 Dismounted Soldier (LCG1-DS) on 8 May 2009. It was forwarded to the NATO Standardisation Agency and then to individual NATO nations, who will test the NATO Accessory Rail system before final ratification.
Weapons of the future will inherently incorporate electronics. New weapons that are being fielded today that were the future weapons of yesterday, are using smart laser guided munitions that are programmed at the moment they are fired. Laser range finders, targeting system and many other accessory devices as they become smaller, will eventually be integrated into the weapon with a rechargeable weapon system battery or energy source providing the electrical power. The type of weapon, the type of projectile it fires whether a munition, surveillance device, micro-drone etc, and its propellant may all utilise electronics to enhance the weapons functionality. For example, in the future, soldiers may carry man-portable rail guns that apply electrically powered magnetically accelerated projectiles. These type of weapons may utilise rechargeable central power sources that require considerable amounts of rapid power transfer.
An example of a newly fielded weapon is the US Army XM25 CDTE (the “XM25”) which fires 25 mm grenades that are set to explode in mid-air at or near the target. A laser rangefinder in the weapon is used to determine the distance to the target. The user can manually adjust the detonating distance by up to 10 feet (3.0 m) shorter or longer; the XM25 automatically transmits the detonating distance to the grenade in the firing chamber. The grenade tracks the distance it has traveled by the number of spiral rotations after it is fired, then detonates using an electronic fuse at the proper distance to produce an air burst effect. These features make the XM25 more effective than traditional grenade launchers at the task of hitting targets that are behind cover or dug into the ground. The XM25 features the following electronic components: thermal sight, laser rangefinder, ballistic computer, digital compass (cant, bearing, tilt), electronic fuze setter, internal display, environmental sensors. Of the few improvements to be made to the XM25, one is to extend its battery life.
All of the above, and others in their respective generic hand-held man-portable weapon classes, including those under development now or hand-held in the future, will benefit from having their respective energy sources charged at high rates while stowed, housed, shipped, chambered, magazined (ie. loaded in a magazine), etc., ready for immediate use, or quickly being readied for use, without the needed for a soldier/technician to plug in and unplug a charging cable.
Manufacturers are now starting to provide powered rails for weapon accessories. Two examples are the Wilcox Industry and T-WORX Ventures powered rails.
The T-WORX™ ventures powered rail (see for example U.S. Pat. No. 7,627,975) has a central battery in the butt of the weapon which provides electric power to the accessory rail system.
The Wilcox Industry FUSION AMP™ Rail provides an “electrical power management system” to control a line of accessories that do not have individual battery compartments. The Wilcox FUSION™ Vertical Grip Module is a three volt system that houses a “Quick Change” Grip Power Cassette™ that can be adjusted at any point along the six o'clock rail for operational comfort and moves the weapon's center of gravity for better weapon handling. One change of the battery recharges power to all of the attached accessories. The system allows for independent control of the desired accessories and the low-profile design reduces the snag hazard when handling the weapon.
When a soldier has a powered rail the soldier currently has three options with which to maintain electrical power in the weapon: replace the main battery as done with the Wilcox and T-WORX™ powered rails, and the NATO/RTO concept FIGS. 1C, 1E, 1F; charge the weapon's central battery inductively in an opportunistic fashion through the use of primary coils on the torso or shoulder of the soldier and a secondary receiving coil in the stock of the weapon; or, charge the weapons central battery using a cable and connector to plug into power, either at forward operating base, connecting to a vehicle power source, using a portable power scavenger or anything else where there is suitable power to plug into.
A fourth alternative, and what is described herein, is to inductively fast charge the weapon central energy source, such as a battery, when on or in what is referred to herein as a weapon system platform having an integrated power supply, which may be in a vehicle, aircraft, spacecraft, boat, submarine, etc., or at forward operating base (“FOB”) or wherever there is a suitable source of power so as to employ weapon wireless fast-charging according to the various aspects of the present invention.